Mobile circuit-closer.



F. E. TOWN.

MOBILE CIRCUIT CLOSER.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO. 5,'1906.

968,208. l Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

180, 9, 10 and 11.

fixed within the lower central portion of.

iarran etarras PATENT onirica.

FREDERIC E. TOWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGN'OR TO OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

MOBILE CIRCUIT-CLOSER. 'i

Specicatin of Letters Patent.

Appncann inea December' 5, 190e. serial No. 346,372.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

and although it is herein shown as applied toy an elevator door lock and in my co-pending application, Serial No. 319,483, tiled May 31, 1906, for an improvement in elevator door locks, as applied to an automatic electric elevator system, it may have a general application. The door lock mechanism including my im )roved circuit closer is covered in saidco- )en ing application.

' ne of t-he objects of my invent-ion is the provision of a circuit controller having its circuit breaking terminals entirely inclosed, in combination with a magnet and a. movable armature external to said controller to effect the operation of t-he latter.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mobile circuit-closer associated with a magnet which has a movable armature for eiiecting the operation of said circuit-closer. Y

Another object ot my invention is to provide a combined terminal carrier and electromagnetic circuit controller which can easily be removed and replaced by another of like structure, said terminal carrier co-acting when in position with substantially stationary contacts electrically connected to the terminals of said electro-magnetic circuit controller. y

. Other objects of the invention will a pear hereinafter, the novel combinations 0 elements being pointed out in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a. vertical sectional view of an elevator door lock with my invention ap'- plied thereto, the circuit controller heilig shown in closed position; Fig. 2 is a similarview but showing the circuit-closer in open position. l

Referring to the drawings, lit will. be seen that a terminal block 145 of insulating material carries a plurality of tixed contacts This terminal block is the casing140 which in this instance is the keeper casingY ot'an elevator door lock. This 2 of insu ating material.

casing has secured to it a face plate 185 provided with openings 186 and 200 for the passage of the latch 155 and locking bolt 147, respectively. Mounted in theupper portion of the casing 140 in suitable bearings is the shaft 18 which carries the lever arm 102 having a roller 99 at its upper outer end and having a link 148 pivoted at 204 at its lowerend. This link is adapted to pass through an opening 203 in the partition 202 fixed in the casing 140, and strike against the projection 162 of the locking bolt 147.

The lock casing 141 is provided with a face plate 199 and contains the latch 155 and bolt 147- together with the means for operating the same. The door knob s indie 193 carrles a pinion 198 which ,isat apted `to engage the rack 190 of the latch 155 and move the same against the action of the .spring 190. 'A sprlng 192forces the locking bolt through the lower opening in the face plate 199, but outward movement of the locking bolt is limited b the shoulder 197.

201 designates a keyho e for the insertion of a key 149 so that the-doorimay be opened manually if desired. l i

In a well known manner a cam connected to an elevator car is adapted to engagezfthe roller 99 to force the lever 102 to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus eHecting the unlocking of the door in an obvious manner. It is also evident that the lever 102 may be operated manually so that it is deemed unnecessary to make an further illustration in this application to illustrate the mode of applying my invention.

The combined magnetic circuit-closer and terminal carrier ts snugly between the partition 215, the upper portion of the fixed terminal block 145 and-the face late 185 of the keeper casing. When the atter is removed the circuit-closer and the terminal carrier 146 may be easily removed. I The 'electro-magnetic mechanism for eiecting the operation of the mobile circuitcloser comprises a solenoid 15G, mounted on the iron s ool 1 with an intermediate spool The spool 1 is internally screw-threaded at 3 for the reception of the screws 4 and 5 at its ends for securing the pole pieces 157 'and 158 to said solenoid and spools, constituting an electromagnet G.V Each of these poles as viewed in Fi 1 extends to theright and each is provi ed in this instance -with a vertical cylindrical opening 207 and 208, respectively. Through these openings lpasses a l tube 168, of insulating material, referably' glass. 1f desired the openingsint epole 158 may not extend entirely therethrough but merely form a cylindrical recess for the reception of the glass tube 168. This tube ma e entirely open at the bottom andclose by means of a plug of cork 173, or said tube may be closed by the material o f which 1t is composed, as shown at I288 in Fig. 1. rlhe electro-magnet including the poles 157 and 158 may be of any desired design and construction and may in some lnstances be re'- placed by a permanent magnet.

Within the tube 168 is adapted to move vertically or on an incline, a cylindrical piece of magnetic material 169, preferably soft iron. The tube contains a certain quantity of mercury 171, or other conduct.

ing` fluid, and on this mercury oats the iron tube 169. ln order to give this tube 169 greater displacement when drawn down without increasing its weight too much, the interior of the tube may be coated with some insulating material or an additional glass tube 170 placed 'within thesame. The lower ends of the iron tube '169 and the glass tube 1701are notched at 209 so as to prevent sticking of the tube 169 to the bottom when 'said tube is forced down-v wardl in a manner hereinafter described, thus insuring its quick upward movement when the downward force acting thereon released. rlhese details, however, vma varied by/-those skilled in the art wit out departing, from the principles 'of my invention. l

Thetuper end of the glass tube 169 is closedwit insulating material 167, as by means of an ordinary cork which is pro-- vided with a central opening for the insertion of the insulating rod or tube 165.. This insulating rod carries the contact terminal 16e which extends downwardly a' suitable distance and is adapted to' come in Contact with the mercury 171 as shown in .Fig-1. Preferably the rod 165 is ecmposed ofi' glass which has been .molded over the platinum wire 16d. Through the bottom of the tube 168 extends another contact terminal 1611 which always makes electrical connection -seen that when the `are now the through the insulating bottomebaaoe 'magnetic material, as for exam le, brass,

while the part 160 is composed ot magnetic material similar to the poles 157 and 158 and preferably soft iron. ,lt will therefore. be poles 157 and 158 with the intermediate blocks 159, 160 and161 are secured in position, an opening extends entirely through the same, and in this opening is placed the tube 168.

Normally the iron tube 169 within the glass tube 168 oats on the conducting iiuid 171 as indicated in F ig. 2, when the terminals 16d and 16d are electrically discon-v nected. At this time the lines of force extending :trom the pole pieces to form amag-y material instead of leaving air gaps. liurthermore, the intermediate block 160 is supported in proper position by the pieces of non-magnetic material although the latter could be omitted if desired, and thepart of magnetic material 160 could be secured to and carried by the tube 168, or in any other desired manner.

Now when the locking bolt 147 which is composed of soft iron is allowed to be moved to locking position as indicated in Fig. 1, its l-shaped, rounded or semi-cylindrical face 163 will engage with the corresponding recesses in 'the faces of the pole piece 157 block 159, and block 160.' The locking bolt will 'then provide a path or very low reluctance tert-he lines of :torce between the up er pole ci .the magnet and the intermediate block 160.

rThe gapbetween the pole 157 and the intermediate magnetic part 166 will be substantially eliminated by this operation and therefore the effective magnetic held will be shifted downwardly between the magnetic part 160 and the pole 158. ln other .Words the ends of the poles of the electro-magnet art 16() and the pole 158. When the locking bolt 147 is in the position indicated in Fig. 2 the air ap. between the same and the poles of the e ectro-ma et is too great to have any appreciable e ect on the iron tube 1691 At this time the electromagnet when energized, tends to draw the iron tube 169 toward its upper pole 157, as mercury enough is used to ioat this tube slightly above middle position'. The iron tube 169 will therefore take a position at a point slightly above the midway position between the poles 157 and 158 of the electro-magnet. The magnet may be constructed so as to hold the lookin member 147 firmly in position magneticay, but it is preferably so designed that such member maybe manually withdrawn from the position in Fig. 1 to- Without too great The iron tube 169 will always tend to place itself in such a position as to close any1 magnetic gaps so as to lessen the reluctance to the lines of force in the well known manner. When the iron tube 169 is thus attracted downwardly the mercury -171 will be displaced and its depth therefore increased until it engages the inner end of the terminal 164, so as to electrically connect the latter with the terminal 164. The terminals'-164 and 164 may be connected in any circuit that is desired to be controlled by means of the leads 166 and 172 which are connected respectivel to the contacts 214, 11, and 213, 10. The Xed contacts 10 and 11 areconnected respectively to the terminals 14 and 15 which lead directly to the apparatus to be controlled. The terminals 213 and 214 like those designated 183 and 212, are springpressed and mounted in cup-shaped receptacles 8 which are fixed to the removable terminal block 146. The outward movement of the spring-pressed terminals is limited by the heads 103. The terminal block 146 is in this instance rigidly connected to the pole piece 158 of the electro-magnet, and the terminals carried by said block are so arranged'that when the magnet is placed in position the spring-pressed terminals will engage the fixed terminals. These fixed terminals comprise cylindrical metal blocks 18'4 each having a hole longitudinally through its center for receiving the bare Wire 181.

The right-hand end of the block 184 is slotted crosswise so that when the nut 180 is secured in position on the screw threaded outer end of said block, the wire 181 will be clamped in position with its end exposed.

AThe advantage of this construct-ion is that the wire 181 may be secured in position with its end projecting a slight distance to the right of the block 184 as viewed in Fig. 1.

-The outer en'd of the block 184 together with the'end of the Wire 181 may then be tiled so that the surfaces of each will be lush withl A the other. The spring-pressed terminals The terminals of the electro-magnet-l are here shown connected by the wires 17 and? to the'spring-pressed contacts 183 and 212 g,

respectively, the latter being adapted to en- "5 gage the fixed terminals connected to the Vwires 12 and 13 leading to a source of energy. As an additional vprotection to the Vcontacts carried by the block 146 of the electro-magnetic device, a plate 216 is secured to said block so as to be engaged by the face plate 185 when the parts are in their proper positions as in Fig. 1. The plate 216 also serves as a means for more rigidly connecting the block 146 and -its terminals tov the electro-magnet and circuit-closer.

It should be noted .that the circuit-closing device herein disclosed may -take the place of a simple switch which cannot be used near explosive or very inflammable substances. This is for the reason that whenever the circuit-closer is opened any sparking or arcing that could be produced will occur within the glass tube and suchl arcing will therefore not be exposed to the atmosphere, nor could arc-` ing produce any melting of the parts. In such case the magnetic member 147 could be mounted in the same manner as an ordinary switch blade or operated in any other desired manner. In other words, my improved circuit-closing device may be used as a simple switch, the magnetic member for eiecting the opening and the closing of t-he swltch being mounted in any vconvenient manner. Y

Obviously those skilled in the art majy make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and l desi-re therefore not to be limited to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to have protected by Letters Patent of the United States is :v-

1. The combination with a movable magnetic member, of anelectro-magnet having one of its poles extended into the path of said movable member, a mobile circuitcloser associated with the poles of said electro-magnet, a section of magnetic material between said poles but magnetically separated therefrom, and means for moving said first-named magnetic member into engagement with-said first-named pole and said intermediate section of magnetic material.

2. The combinatlon with a magnet, of a said receptacle bein adapted to contain electric conducting quid, a plurality of contacts, and magnetic meanscomprising an external movable element for displacing said liquid to electrically connect sald contacts.

4. The combination with an inclosed mobile circuit-closer, of a magnet, a block of magnetic material intermediate the poles of the magnet, and a movablepiece of magnetic material to connect a magnet pole to said intermediate block to direct the magnetic iiux in a predetermined path and effect the closure of the circuit-closer.

5. The combination with an electro-magnet, of an insulating tube located externally of the electro-magnet between the poles thereof and containing mercury, circuit terminals, an iron tube floating on said mercury, and means for moving the iron tube to f displace the mercury to electrically connect lso said terminals.

6. The combination with a magnet having extended poles, of an insulating tube connected between said poles, a movable member of magnetic material floating on mercury in said tube, insulated terminals projecting into said tube, a section or block of magnetic material between said poles, and

a magnetic member to connect oneof said poles and said block to distort the magnetic field adjacent the magnet poles and effect a downward movement of the interior movable member, and the displacement of the mercury to electrically connect said termina s.

7. The combination with a magnet with laterally extending poles, of an insulating` tubel closed at its ends and fitting Within openings in said poles, insulated circuit terminals projecting into said tube, an iron tube having an interior wall of insulating material and floating on mercury in said tube, two sections of non-magnetic material and an intermediate section of magnetic material between the poles and associated with said tube, anda movable magnetic device for connecting the upper pole with the said intermediate vsection to effect the .descent of th` iron tube and the consequent displacement of the mercuryto electrically connect said terminals.

8. The combination with a mobile circuit,-

closer comprising a plurality of circuit tereeaace able device for displacing the same, of anelectro-magnet associated with said circuitcloser, and an insulating terminal block for said circuit-closer and electro-magnet and rigidly connected thereto.

9. The combina-tion with a mobile circuitcloser, of an electro-magnet associated therewith, a terminal block rigidly connected to said magnet and circuit-closer, a corresponding fixed terminal block, means for receiving and supportin the circuit-closer, magnet and first-namel terminal block as a single bination with'an electro-magnet, of an inclosed mercury circuit-closer rigidly con-l nected to the poles of. said electro-magnet and comprising a freely movable elelnentin contact with the mercury, an insulatinv block rigidly connected to said magnet, and

contacts carried by said block and electrically connected to the terminals of said electro-magnet and said circuit-closer.

12. The combination with an electro-magnet having laterally extending poles, of a plurality of sections of non-magnetic material with an intermediate section. of vmagnetic material lbetween said poles, an insulating receptacle containing liquid conduct-ing materiall and extending between said poles and through said sections, elect-ric terminals extending into said receptacle, a plurality' of insulated contacts connected respectively to the winding oftheelectromagnet and said terminals, and a frame for carrying and supporting the aforesaid parts as a unitary structure.

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses;

FREDERIC E. TOWN.

Witnesses:

CEAS. M. Nissan, W. H. BRADY. 

